Dangers of DIY RFID Implants

From X11Wiki

Why write this?

I started this article as I am concerned that there has been a lot of media coverage recently about DIY RFID Tagging and I've seen people visiting the Tagged forum and saying really dumb things like "wow, where can I get the cheapest implants" and "I'm 15 how can I convince my parents to let me do this".

Thankfully I've not heard any stories about anyone mutilating themselves trying to implant an RFID tag and I don't intend to discourage people from doing their own implants but I do want to make sure that people are aware that this isn't something to be taken lightly and that those of us who are already tagged do our best to inform newcomers of the possible dangers.

What can go wrong?

Rejection and Infection

When you implant something under your skin you are creating a wound and inserting a foreign object into the wound. It turns out that the normal behaviour for the body is to reject such foreign material by slowly forcing it towards the surface of the skin where it will eventually be ejected.

You can reduce the chances of rejection by choosing an implant that is made from a "biocompatible" material such as BioGlass. Such implants are usually intended for use in animals and sometimes have a layer of BioBond on them. BioBond encourages scar tissue to intermingle with it causing the implant to "lock" itself to the surrounding soft tissue and restrict migration or rejection. BioBond also makes removing the implant for upgrades difficult. Since we have no real idea where this technology will be in twenty years time it seems unwise to use a BioBond coated chip.

Be aware that not all glass ampule RFID tags are designed for implanting. Some may be made for use in liquid environments or to be embedded in plastics and other industrial uses.

Another risk of creating such a wound is infection. It costs more to purchase a sterilised chip than one you'll need to sterilise yourself and sterilising an RFID implant at home can be quite difficult. The standard method for sterilising equipment (such as instruments used in a piercing studio) is to use an autoclave (a device that super-heats steam at 121°C under pressure for at least 15 minutes). DIY RFID implanters have had varying amounts of success sterilising their tags with iodine, alcohol or even Milton baby steriliser before implanting but it is strongly suggested that you spend that little bit extra and go for a pre-sterilised tag.

Your environment must also be clean, sterile latex gloves should be worn and the skin surrounding the implant location, as well as the implant location itself, should be cleaned with an alcohol wipe.

Depending on the method you choose to implant the tag you'll also need sterile instruments. All needles, scalpels, clamps or even spoons (yes, there is a method that requires a flat teaspoon handle in lieu of a dermal separator) will need to be adequately sterilised.

Health is also an issue, a healthy person will heal much quicker than someone suffering from an illness (even something as common as a cold). Let your body recover from any current ailments before introducing a new one. If you don't already, start taking a multivitamin with iron supplement a few days before performing the procedure.

Subdermal Movement

It's possible your implant may move around under your skin shortly after being implanted. The body is adept at moving foreign objects around internally, usually with a view to removing it completely (rejection). This could lead to several undesirable effects including nerve and muscle damage and in some circumstances the implant could shift deeper into your body and become lost. (due to the short range of RFID implants it may also become useless). It is even possible the implant could migrate into a joint. A popular RFID implant location is between the forefinger and thumb, imagine how painful it would be to wake up and feel you have a small glass ampule stuck between that particular joint.

Nerve, Muscle and Blood Vessel damage

A popular location for implants is the back of the hand or wrist. This is also a place generally filled with nerves, blood vessels and muscle tissue. If your implant is resting on a nerve or blood vessel it can cause pain, cold feeling and even loss of feeling to surrounding areas.

Put your right hand around your left wrist and grip tightly, now wiggle the fingers on your left hand... feel all those tendons and other wiggly-body-things (I said I wasn't a doctor!). Implanting an RFID tag there means making sure you don't hit any of those and that once implanted your tag doesn't migrate to somewhere it puts pressure on something important.

Note: My implant is actually located in the back of my wrist.

Breakage

RFID Implants are generally small glass ampules containing an antenna and some circuitry. If an RFID tag is subject to a strong enough force the glass will shatter and the antenna (a simple copper wire coil) will unravel.

The chances of this happening once the tag has been implanted are low and the amount of force required to break the tag (which is now protected by soft fleshy tissue) is so high that you would probably end up with broken bones as well.

Before going ahead with my own implant, I deliberately broke a tag to see how much force was needed. Photos of the broken tag can be found here (http://pics.livejournal.com/nadnad/pic/000141xf/g5).

Where can I get more information?

The best source of information on DIY RFID Implanting at the moment is the Tagged forums at http://tagged.kaos.gen.nz/ you'll find there are a number of people on the forum who already have RFID implants (myself included).

The BMEZine website contains a wealth of information for the body modification community and in particular their BME Risks (http://www.bmezine.com/risks/) site contains a section specific to generic implants and many of the issues they talk about are relevant to RFID tag implanting.

I've only touched on what I see as the core issues of what can go wrong when you take an off the shelf RFID implant and try to put it under your skin without professional medical assistance. You are encouraged to do your own research and share with the members of the Tagged forum.

About the Author

Dan Lane is a geek who lives on the east coast of England and was 'tagged' in September 2005. His implant was performed by his girlfriend (a body piercer with more than 10 years experience) with a Jecta (http://www.jecta.co.uk) animal implanter.

Dan can be found on the web at http://invalid.name/, videos of his implant procedure are downloadable from here (http://www.x11.net/wiki/index.php/My_RFID_Implant) and his e-mail address is null@invalid.name .